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Headteacher
Chris Coyle-Chislett

Email the Office
secretary@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk

Telephone Number
01736 753472

Follow us on Twitter
@PenpolSchool

Our Address
2 St George’s Road, Hayle,
Cornwall, TR27 4AH

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundations of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”

Sweet Success: Year 2 Make Honey Flapjacks

This week, our Year 2 classrooms were buzzing with excitement as pupils traded pencils for mixing bowls to create their very own honey flapjacks. The sweet smell of honey and oats filled the air as the children took part in this hands-on learning experience, combining cooking with literacy, mathematics and creativity.

The week began with an introduction to reading recipes. In their whole-class reading lessons, the children learned to navigate the instructions step by step, identifying time connectives and command sentences. They practised reading measurements and ingredient lists, connecting their classroom English and maths lessons to real-life scenarios.

Our Year 2 pupils worked in groups to read their recipes, then carefully measured out and mixed the ingredients, before scraping the flapjack mixtures into greased and lined baking tins.

The flapjacks, baked to golden perfection, received raving reviews from children and parents alike. More than just a fun activity, this experience highlighted valuable lessons about following instructions, expressing creativity, and working collaboratively with peers.

After successfully making (and tasting!) their flapjacks, the children have been inspired to write their own recipes… Watch this space for their own oat-standing flapjack recipes!

YEAR 1 – LONDON’S BURNING!

Our Year 1 children have been enthralled with our Great Fire of London topic. Today recreating their own Great Fire of London – LONDON IS BURNING!

Both Class 3 and Class 4 have been combining their History and Design and Technology skills to design and build their own models of houses from the 1660s. They have explored how homes were constructed during this time, learning about the materials used—such as wood and thatch—that made the houses more vulnerable during the fire. They built models that reflect what homes in London might have looked like – with some amazing HOME creations too!

This project has not only deepened their understanding of a key historical event but also encouraged creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.

Cracking the Code: Year 6 Builds Brilliant Morse Machines!

This term, Year 6 pupils embarked on an exciting project that combined history, science, and technology: building their very own Morse code machines! Inspired by the revolutionary invention that changed the way humans communicated in the 19th century, the pupils dived into the world of coding, circuits, and ingenuity.

Before the building began, pupils explored the fascinating history of Morse code. They learned how Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed this groundbreaking system of dots and dashes to send messages over long distances. From its vital role in maritime safety to its use in wartime communication, the pupils were captivated by the story of how Morse code shaped history.

With the historical foundation laid, it was time to get hands-on! Pupils worked independently to design and build functional Morse code machines using batteries, wires, bulbs, and switches. Guided by their science and technology lessons, they learned about electrical circuits and how to create a closed-loop system to power their devices.

They also tackled the challenge of encoding and decoding messages, practicing their new Morse code skills with their classmates.

Super work Year 6!

YEAR 1 HAVE BEEN DESIGNING AND BUILDING GREAT FIRE OF LONDON HOUSES!

As part of our exciting Great Fire of London topic in Design and Technology, Year 1 children have been busy designing and building their own houses! They’ve explored what homes looked like in London during the 1660s and learned how the materials used at the time contributed to the spread of the fire.

Using their creativity and problem-solving skills, students have designed houses, considering how to make them strong and safe. They’ve used a variety of materials, from cardboard and paper to paint, to build models of their houses. This hands-on project has not only helped them understand history but has encouraged teamwork and also explored our Penpol value of CREATIVITY, all while having fun learning about the Great Fire of London!

A fort-ified effort!

This half-term, our Year 2 pupils have been learning all about castles and embarked on a building project that even Henry VIII would have admired. Every foreman needs labourers, so what better opportunity than to collaborate with their learning buddies from Classes 14 and 12?

With guidance and teamwork, the Year 2 pupils transformed their designs into impressive castles, showcasing their newly gained knowledge. From the importance of battlements for defense to creating a working drawbridge, their projects brought history to life in the most creative ways.

Well done to our budding architects and their fantastic learning buddies for such a royally impressive effort! 🏰✨

We Will Remember

On Monday our Year 6 pupils took break from writing their World War 1 poetry to pay their respects and mark the two-minute silence on Armistice day at the War Memorial in Hayle alongside other members of our community.

 

The children have been learning lots in class about the sacrifice many service personnel have made on behalf of their countries through their topic of ‘War and Peace’

This has included making poppy crosses to lay in the D-day inspired garden outside of the Passmore Edwards Institute opposite the memorial. They have also sewn their very own felt poppies whilst raising money for the Royal British Legion.

 

A Delicious Apple and Blackberry Crumble Creation!

Year 1 went on an exciting blackberry walk to hunt for the juiciest blackberries, ready to add the perfect touch to our apple and blackberry crumble! After gathering our tasty ingredients, we got busy chopping, mixing and baking to create our scrumptious treat. Once the crumble was ready, we couldn’t wait to taste it – and everyone agreed, it was absolutely delicious!

But the fun didn’t stop there! In our English books, we wrote step-by-step instructions on how to make our apple and blackberry crumble, sharing our cooking skills with others. We also used our Design and Technology books to evaluate how well our crumble turned out.

What a tasty and creative way to learn!

Year 6 explore STEAM subjects at Hayle Academy

Earlier this month, our Year 6 pupils enjoyed a short walk to Hayle Academy to take part in an exciting transition and taster day within the Science, Maths, and DT departments.

In the ‘Magical Maths’ session, the children tackled challenging puzzles that even left the adults scratching their heads! They worked diligently to solve Sudoku-style problems and explored how ancient civilizations used mathematics to create intricate shapes and patterns.

 

The theme of patterns continued in DT, where Class 14 had a hands-on challenge to construct geodesic domes using cocktail sticks and sweets. While some domes were more successful than others, a few sweet-related distractions may have played a part! If you’d like to try this activity at home, the brief sheet is attached below.

In the Science lab, Class 13 geared up in PPE and delved into an exciting experiment to test the pH levels of different liquids. Budding scientists in the making!

IT’S NOT SAFE FOR THEM IN THE CITY: Send them to the countryside!

85 years after thousands of children and young vulnerable adults were evacuated from cities across the country during WW2, our Year 6 children had a go themselves. To launch the start of our ‘Wartime and Peace’ topic the children (and adults) dressed themselves in period clothing and lived the life of an evacuee for the day.

 

After being met at the gates by 2 of the newest members of the Penpol Division of the British Forces and our very own Land Girls they waved a teary goodbye to their parents before heading off for the train station. They were then subjected to a roll call and squeezed into a cramped school classrooms; much like the evacuees of 1939 would have been when they departed the trains.

It was here the children had chance to act in character and meet their fellow evacuees, discussing the contents of their suitcases as well as their preferred destination. Those without identification tags were labeled and sent on their way. The children then had some time to look at and try different games that evacuees would have played in the 40’s. The children also took some time to research and better understand the process of ‘Operation Pied Piper” before writing some touching postcards home.

 

After a ration-free lunch the children got to grips with the struggles of rationing with some home cooking following a handed-down ration recipe to make some delicious scones.

At the close of the day the children were collected by their parents, their evacuation was much shorter than those during the war. Many parents came into class to sample some of their cooking but also sit and enjoy their child’s work from the day.

John Dyer inspired art from Year 6

In year 6 we have been creating a mural of Godrevy lighthouse: a painting from the Cornish artist John Dyer.

Firstly, we did some research about John Dyer to give us a better understanding about the painting that we were re-creating. After that, we got given the canvas we were going to paint, some more intricate than others but all equally as important. Shortly after, we started to draw our tiles in our sketchbook we then used oil pastels to draw our first picture of what we were later going to paint. We then looked at what type of colours we were going to use on our canvas then when we were all prepared with our brushes and our canvases we began to paint – one layer at a time.

After we did the basics on our canvas, we then let it dry and then came back a few days later to add in the detailed bits onto the canvas. We let that dry once again and moved onto the finishing touches. We checked with the people who has the canvases directly next to ours and they lined up almost perfectly. We then added them onto a wooden board before they went on display, hopefully for many years to come.

Why don’t you see if you can spot it somewhere in the school!

 

We reached out to John Dyer, a local Cornish artist, to see what he thought of our work!

“The artwork looks amazing! FANTASTIC work by the children and what an inspired idea! 🙂

I hope it looks fantastic in the school and inspires creativity and a love of the landscape and environment.

Thank you so much for sharing and well done!”